If you need a refresher, Pinocchio is the tale of a puppet created by a woodcarver named Geppetto. Pinocchio's greatest wish is to become a real human boy, but he has a tendency to tell lies, which causes his nose to grow outward.

The story is actually incredibly surreal, which should make it a good fit for del Toro's imaginative approach to filmmaking.

Del Toro will also write and produce Pinocchio, which will be set in 1930s Italy. The Jim Henson Company and animation studio ShadowMachine (known for BoJack Horseman) are also on board for the production.

More on del Toro

"No art form has influenced my life and my work more than animation and no single character in history has had as deep of a personal connection to me as Pinocchio," said del Toro. "In our story, Pinocchio is an innocent soul with an uncaring father who gets lost in a world he cannot comprehend."

Disney's 1940 animated musical version of Pinocchio still holds strong in the public mind, but the Netflix Film Twitter account has already put the kibosh on one famous Disney character by tweeting, "...And it's safe to say that Jiminy won't be in Guillermo's version."